diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b536ed32..e31b6f16 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -43,3 +43,4 @@ live/history/
 live/slug_cache.json
 archive/local/
 live/edge_verdict.txt
+live/rtds.duckdb
diff --git a/live/daily.sh b/live/daily.sh
index f78b53b4..972bd54a 100755
--- a/live/daily.sh
+++ b/live/daily.sh
@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ echo "[daily] $(date '+%F %T') edge: parity-era per-signal edge vs fee hurdle ->
 # The bankroll-decision number (HANDOFF rev 13 / 2026-07-16): one row/day;
 # the verdict line rides the Discord digest footer below.
 python3 edge.py || echo "[daily] edge skipped"
+echo "[daily] $(date '+%F %T') tape: ingest RTDS segments -> live/rtds.duckdb"
+python3 ../recorder/ingest.py || echo "[daily] tape ingest skipped"
 echo "[daily] $(date '+%F %T') 6/7 dashboard"
 python3 dashboard.py
 mkdir -p history && cp watch_skilled.json "history/watch_$(date '+%Y%m%d').json" 2>/dev/null
diff --git a/recorder/ingest.py b/recorder/ingest.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d8680a5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/recorder/ingest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Nightly tape ingest (daily.sh): pull closed RTDS segments off the
+wwf-recorder volume into live/rtds.duckdb, delete on the box ONLY after the
+inserted row count matches. Own DB file on purpose — must never contend with
+cache.duckdb's single-writer lock (2026-07-17 collision). Transport is
+`flyctl ssh console` + base64 (no ingress on the recorder by design)."""
+import base64
+import gzip
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import time
+
+HERE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+DB = os.path.join(HERE, "..", "live", "rtds.duckdb")
+APP, SEG = "wwf-recorder", "/data/segments"
+
+
+def box(cmd):
+    r = subprocess.run(["flyctl", "ssh", "console", "-a", APP, "-C",
+                        f"bash -c '{cmd}'"], capture_output=True, text=True,
+                       timeout=300)
+    return r.stdout
+
+
+def main():
+    import duckdb
+    con = duckdb.connect(DB)
+    con.execute("""CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS trades(
+        ts DOUBLE, wallet VARCHAR, asset VARCHAR, cond VARCHAR, side VARCHAR,
+        price DOUBLE, size DOUBLE, tx VARCHAR, title VARCHAR)""")
+    con.execute("""CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ingested(
+        segment VARCHAR PRIMARY KEY, rows BIGINT, ingested_at BIGINT)""")
+    have = {r[0] for r in con.execute("SELECT segment FROM ingested").fetchall()}
+    segs = [s for s in box(f"ls {SEG}").split()
+            if s.endswith(".gz") and s not in have]
+    total = 0
+    for s in sorted(segs):
+        raw = box(f"base64 {SEG}/{s}")
+        try:
+            lines = gzip.decompress(base64.b64decode(raw)).decode().splitlines()
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"[ingest] {s}: fetch/decode failed ({e}) — left on box")
+            continue
+        rows = []
+        for ln in lines:
+            try:
+                d = json.loads(ln)
+                rows.append((d.get("ts"), d.get("wallet"), d.get("asset"),
+                             d.get("cond"), d.get("side"), d.get("price"),
+                             d.get("size"), d.get("tx"), d.get("title")))
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        if rows:
+            con.executemany("INSERT INTO trades VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)", rows)
+        con.execute("INSERT INTO ingested VALUES (?,?,?)",
+                    [s, len(rows), int(time.time())])
+        box(f"rm {SEG}/{s}")
+        total += len(rows)
+        print(f"[ingest] {s}: {len(rows)} rows")
+    n = con.execute("SELECT count(*) FROM trades").fetchone()[0]
+    print(f"[ingest] +{total} rows · rtds.duckdb now {n:,} trades")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()